Two-week trial now planned for alleged murderer of Quilcene man

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A new trial date has been set for the man accused of gunning down a 62-year-old Quilcene man as he sat in his living room the day after Thanksgiving.

Blake Robert Fox appeared in Jefferson County Superior Court Friday for a pre-trial hearing via a video link from the county jail.

Fox, 39, earlier pleaded “not guilty” to a felony charge of second-degree murder.

A trial date had been set for April 25, but Superior Court Judge Keith Harper rescheduled the start of the trial to June 13.

A trial stretching across two weeks is expected.

Fox remains in Jefferson County Jail, with bail set at $500,000.

Fox, of Port Townsend, was arrested Nov. 27 after authorities alleged he shot and killed Robin L. Richards, 62, as Richards was sitting in the living room of his home on McInnis Road in Quilcene.

Prosecutors claim Fox had been visiting Richards, along with a woman and her 6-year-old daughter, around 9:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 26.

According to the statement of probable cause for Fox’s arrest, he stepped outside and was smoking a cigarette when he came back into the home and started shooting.

Fox had been standing in the foyer of the home when he opened fire, a witness said, who added that Richards called out, “He killed me” after being shot.

Her 6-year-old daughter had been asleep on a couch in the home at the time.

Fox initially fled the scene, prompting a 12-hour search for his 2008 Ford F-150 that ended after Fox ran out of gas and fled into the forest near West Valley Road in Chimacum.

After he was taken into custody, Fox allegedly told the detective he had thrown his Glock handgun into the woods.

Fox also briefly mentioned the dispute at the home in Quilcene, allegedly saying, “I should have just left, the way they were talking to me.”

Authorities obtained a search warrant for Fox’s bedroom at his parents’ house, and found an AR-15 rifle and a 12-gauge shotgun, as well as hundreds of rounds of ammunition in eight different calibers, according to court documents.